Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visits Kuwait: The right time to take bilateral relations to new heights

On the occasion of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife's upcoming official visit to Kuwait, Vietnamese Ambassador to Kuwait Nguyen Duc Thang shared with TG&VN about the significance and key contents of the visit.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and ASEAN-GCC leaders attend the ASEAN-GCC Summit on May 27 in Malaysia. (Photo: Quang Hoa)

How does the Ambassador assess the significance and key contents of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Kuwait in the context of the two countries moving towards the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations (1976-2026)?

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Kuwait is of great significance, not only for the bilateral relations between Vietnam and Kuwait in particular but also affirms Vietnam's policy of developing relations with the region in general.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Kuwait Nguyen Duc Thang. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Kuwait)

This foreign affairs activity is a continuation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to three Gulf countries in 2024; demonstrating Vietnam's determination in implementing its foreign affairs strategy towards the Middle East region, promptly realizing Resolution 59-NQ/TW on international integration in the new situation.

Through high-level foreign affairs activities, we continue to strengthen friendly relations, enhance political trust, expand markets, and explore areas with great potential for cooperation with Kuwait.

This is the first visit to Kuwait by a senior Vietnamese leader in 16 years, taking place right at the time when the two countries are preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations in January 2026.

It is absolutely possible to affirm that this is the ripe time for the two countries to consolidate and strengthen bilateral relations, bringing this relationship to a new height, making practical contributions to the development goals of both countries.

For Vietnam, the goal is to become a developing country with modern industry and be among the top 30 economies in the world by 2030, striving to become a developed, high-income, prosperous and happy country by 2045; for Kuwait, the "Vision 2035" is to make this country a leading financial and commercial center in the region and the world.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited Kuwait in the context that the neighboring country is assuming the role of Chair of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Recently, Kuwait has adjusted its policy, paying more attention to Asian countries, including the ASEAN group of countries.

Kuwait has proactively participated in signing the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) in September 2023. In the two recent ASEAN-GCC summits (October 2023 and May 2025), Kuwait played an active role, participating in many important issues in cooperation between the blocs.

With its full potential and position, Vietnam can work with Kuwait to act as a bridge to promote inter-regional cooperation between ASEAN and the GCC. At the same time, we hope Kuwait will promote its role in the process of promoting the launch of negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the GCC in 2025.

During the visit, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will have many important activities, including meetings with His Majesty the King Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, official talks with Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, and receptions with a number of ministers and leaders of key economic groups.

The two sides will review the progress made in the friendship and cooperation over the past half century, as well as exchange and agree on directions, measures and determine a framework for deeper and broader cooperation in the coming time.

The highlight of the visit was Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's policy speech at the Kuwait Diplomatic Academy, a training and academic exchange institution with a rich tradition, meeting the requirements of developing human resources in Kuwait's foreign affairs sector to be worthy of the Arab region and the world.

Through his speech, the Prime Minister will convey a strong message about Vietnam's steady progress in socio-economic development, while highlighting Vietnam's policies and priorities in promoting multifaceted cooperation and ties with the Middle East region in general and Kuwait in particular within a long-term strategic vision.

Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Hang held a political consultation with Kuwaiti Assistant Foreign Minister Sameeh Issa Gohar Hayat on September 22.

Looking back on the nearly five-decade journey of bilateral relations, what is your assessment of the most prominent features in cooperation between the two countries?

Oil and gas investment and trade are the highlights of the current bilateral relationship. The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) manages the world’s fourth-largest sovereign fund with approximately $1,065 billion in assets (after Norway, China and the UAE), playing an important role in allocating investment abroad.

Up to now, Kuwait is the Middle Eastern country with the largest total investment capital in Vietnam, most notably the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Plant project with a capital contribution of up to 3.5 billion USD. The stable oil supply from Kuwait has helped Nghi Son Plant contribute up to 35% of the petroleum products consumed in the domestic market.

In addition, the two countries have also maintained other areas of cooperation with positive results. The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development has supported essential infrastructure projects in Vietnam for many years, with a total value of 182 million USD through 15 projects in many provinces and cities.

In the field of local cooperation, there have been a number of cooperation agreements between the two countries, such as between Ho Chi Minh City and Ahmadi Province, Thanh Hoa Province and Farwaniya Province, etc., thereby promoting delegation exchanges, trade promotion and people-to-people exchanges.

In the field of education and training, the Kuwaiti government has created favorable conditions to grant scholarships for many Vietnamese students to study Arabic at Kuwait University every year since 2013.

After 50 years of establishing diplomatic relations, Vietnam and Kuwait are currently witnessing wide-open opportunities to develop potential fields such as energy security, food security, investment in implementing projects on financial centers and technology infrastructure, tourism cooperation, etc.

In the context of the world's strong shift to renewable energy, Vietnam and Kuwait have many opportunities to cooperate in developing green and clean energy, meeting the international goals and commitments of each country.

On the other hand, Vietnam is confident that it is one of the world's leading exporters of agricultural and aquatic products, capable of providing a rich, stable, long-term source of Halal-standard products to the Kuwaiti market. The governments of both countries are also promoting digital transformation, considering database building and AI application as an important foundation for the upcoming development stage of each country.

Vietnam and Kuwait recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (May 3, 1995 - May 3, 2025); the total import-export turnover between Vietnam and Kuwait in 2024 reached 7.3 billion USD - the highest level of bilateral trade between Vietnam in the Middle East. According to the Ambassador, how will these milestones create momentum for Vietnam-Kuwait economic cooperation in the new period?

After three decades, Vietnam-Kuwait trade cooperation has made many encouraging strides, both in scale and quality. It can be affirmed that oil and gas is the most important component contributing to bilateral trade activities between the two countries so far.

The import of large quantities of oil from Kuwait is to ensure a stable supply for the production activities of the Nghi Son plant. Cooperation in oil and gas and energy in general between the two countries can now be developed in many new directions based on the project. Vietnam is fully qualified to become the largest oil storage and distribution center in Southeast Asia, helping Kuwait to access wider markets in the region.

In addition, our export products to the Kuwait market have become increasingly diverse and have higher value in recent times, including agricultural and aquatic products, fruits, wooden products, machinery and equipment, electronic products, etc. Vietnam's export products always receive positive reviews from consumers in Kuwait, where the local people have one of the highest incomes in the world.

In the coming time, the two countries can also promote cooperation in other major economic projects such as helping to create new financial centers in the region.

Vietnam can become a gateway for Kuwait to expand investment to Southeast Asia, while Kuwait plays the role of a strategic partner helping Vietnam access the Middle East and neighboring markets.

The results from the bilateral trade agreement have been creating more momentum for the implementation of other agreements and documents in many fields such as finance, agriculture, aviation, culture, tourism, etc. This is an important foundation for Vietnam and Kuwait to build a strong and friendly cooperative relationship, connecting the two peoples more in the coming time.

Ambassador Nguyen Duc Thang listens to Kuwaiti businesses share their experiences in penetrating the market within the framework of the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Vietnam-Kuwait Trade Agreement, May 25. (Source: Embassy of Vietnam in Kuwait)

Southeast Asia-Gulf connectivity has been increasingly realized through strong cooperation between ASEAN and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in recent times. What is the significance of these multilateral connections to Vietnam-Kuwait cooperation and how can Vietnam-Kuwait cooperation contribute to the connection between the two regions, Ambassador?

Vietnam and Kuwait have always maintained a tradition of mutual support and assistance at international forums, including important mechanisms and committees at the United Nations of which both countries are members. In terms of multilateral cooperation, the two countries can also benefit greatly from the Southeast Asia-Gulf connectivity that has been promoted recently.

The ASEAN-GCC cooperation process has taken a clearer shape through two Summits in the past three years. The two sides have proposed an Action Plan for the next five years, but there is still a lack of a leading country to act as coordinator from each bloc.

As one of the nine ASEAN countries with permanent representative offices in Kuwait, Vietnam is currently playing an active role in many activities to promote practical cooperation and enhance the image of Southeast Asia to politicians, scholars and Kuwaiti people. Vietnam is also seeking the support of Kuwait - the current Chair of the GCC - to promote the initiation of negotiations to sign a Vietnam-GCC Free Trade Agreement.

In the context of a volatile world, the coordination between Vietnam and Kuwait in promoting multilateralism, peace, sustainable development and actively participating in humanitarian missions will contribute to enhancing the role of both countries in the international arena.

More importantly, both countries are qualified and ready to become a bridge to promote cooperation between ASEAN and GCC on both political and economic levels, opening up a promising process of linking the two regions in the future.

The Vietnamese Embassy co-organized an event to promote ASEAN culture and tourism in Kuwait on May 18. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Kuwait)

Could you please share your cherished plans for 2026, the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations?

The 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year comes at a time when the Vietnam-Kuwait relationship is being established on a new, higher and deeper framework, requiring efforts from both sides.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Kuwait will prioritize implementing a number of practical and effective activities and measures next year to create momentum for a new phase of cooperation development between the two countries.

First of all, we need to immediately start working and implement the results and commitments achieved during Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to Kuwait this month.

We will have to quickly develop action plans for each area of ​​cooperation with a long-term, strategic vision to exploit the potential and strengths of each country. Specifically, we need to prioritize promoting cooperation with Kuwait in the fields of oil and gas, energy, investment, food security, digital transformation, civil infrastructure construction and tourism.

The Embassy continues to prioritize close coordination between the two countries' Foreign Ministries to maintain and promote the mechanism of high-level delegation exchanges, not only through official visits but also at multilateral forums and events.

Through regular friendly contacts between the two countries' leaders in various forms, the two sides will strengthen trust and create effective channels of close connection between senior leaders, and eventually ministries, branches and functional agencies to enhance coordination on important issues.

The Embassy will also actively promote the two sides to hold meetings of the Intergovernmental Committee on economic, trade and scientific and technological cooperation, political consultations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs level, and exchange delegations between ministries, branches and localities of the two countries more frequently and substantially.

Through this, the two sides can review and evaluate the progress of work implementation, promptly resolve any arising problems. In fact, Kuwait's traditional culture values ​​direct work and friendly relations, which is the first basis for moving towards a long-term cooperative relationship.

After half a century, the Vietnam-Kuwait friendship needs to be further nurtured, especially connecting localities and people through cultural diplomacy activities. More and more Kuwaitis choose Vietnam for vacations, to explore nature, cuisine and Asian culture.

The Embassy will focus on implementing cultural promotion and tourism promotion activities, exploiting the great potential of Kuwaiti tourists in particular and the Middle East region in general.

Political commitment between the two countries, close and synchronous coordination between levels and sectors will be the key for Vietnam and Kuwait to overcome difficulties and differences, make the most of each side's opportunities and potentials, and be determined to bring bilateral relations to a new development chapter with more strategic and sustainable implications.

Thank you very much, Ambassador!

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/thu-tuong-pham-minh-chinh-tham-kuwait-thoi-diem-chin-muoi-dua-quan-he-song-phuong-len-tam-cao-moi-334273.html